A Real, Live Knitting Celebrity! Thanks Knitomatic!

Lily Chin!

Lily Chin was in town yesterday at Knitomatic promoting her new Signature Collection of yarns and patterns. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, as there weren't many pictures on her website that screamed "Knit Me, Hoard Me!!", but the yarns and patterns were surprisingly nice.

On the website, the six varieties of yarn in the collection (each named for a neighbourhood in NYC) appear to be knitting staples offered in a nice, but not extensive colour range. In person, each yarn has a little "extra" that makes it tempting! For example, Central Park, the Boucle is wool-based but with a touch of Lycra to keep it from bagging and sagging. Tribeca is a cuddly mohair blend with the added bonus of being "shed-proof"!

The patterns are similarly deceptive. On the website, they look nice, but not particularly wearable (at least not for a 40-something suburban housefrau) In person, the colours were much richer than in the photos and the designs were flattering to a wide (no pun intended) variety of figure types. I'm quite tempted to make the tasselled wrap in green Central Park!

Our little group at Knitomatic!



Ms. Chin is an engaging speaker who encouraged us to try things on and play with the yarn samples. She was also convincingly empathetic to our concerns about "figure camoflage" while standing in front of us in a size "teeny" pair of leather pants!
Here is Miss Ellery in a cute crocheted cloche...almost worth learning to crochet just to make one of those!


I brought Ellery to the trunk show in an attempt to gently fan the flame of her newly acquired love of knitting. Ms. Chin graciously asked Ellery about what she was knitting and what design features she liked and disliked in knitted garments. Ellery mentioned that she likes a sweater that I made for her because it makes her look like a polar bear! (Probably not a sentiment shared by adult knitters)


Here's Haley, owner of Knitomatic and our hostess for the afternoon, wearing a luscious pink mohair sweater from the Collection.